You don't have to be a news junkie to know that the use of torture in interrogation by the federal government of the United States has been the subject of some controversy since the 'War On Terror' kicked into high gear after the 9/11 attacks. There are valid arguments on both sides of the spectrum, and Gregor Jordan's thriller, Unthinkable, sits somewhere close to the middle, but it does suggest that there are even more horrible acts being committed in the name of national security than even those which have been reported by the mainstream press, or what is left of it in this day and age.

When the film begins, we meet an American Muslim who has recently changed his name from Steve to Yusef (Michael Sheen). He's recording a video, the kind that look all too familiar in recent times, in which he announces that he's placed three nuclear devices in three separate American cities that, unless his demands are met, will detonate in six short days. This obviously is a huge concern to everyone, especially FBI Special Agent Helen Brody (Carrie-Anne Moss), who heads up the counter terrorism department in Los Angeles. Assistant Director Jack Saunders (Martin Donovan), Brody's superior, puts this case at the top of her 'to do' list and given the massive and deserving media attention that the case almost instantaneously generates, that's probably not a bad idea. As she and her agents set about following up on as many leads as they can, they uncover a woman named Rina Humphries (Lora Kojovic) who not only has unusual ties to the Middle East, but who also happens to be married to a mysterious man that people refer to only as H (Samuel L. Jackson).

H looks like he could know more about this case than maybe he should and so the Feds bring him in for a little talk but before they can get anything out of him, he's taken away by an agent named Charles Thomson (Stephen Root). When it turns out that Yusef has actually been apprehended, Brody and her team rush to the local high school which has been set up as an impromptu mission base to investigate but are soon shocked to find that H is there too, and that his methods of interrogating a suspect, which are sanctioned by the military, are much harsher and far more unorthodox than their own. As H's methods become increasingly horrifying, Brody finds herself in a literal race against time to try and get what her country needs out of this suspect before H takes things so far that this is no longer a possibility.

Grim, gritty, disturbing and at times unflinchingly violent, Unthinkable does a pretty good job of putting the viewer on the spot and making him or her really think about the situation. When lives are at stake, is it okay to torture someone? If so, should there be limits on the kind of torture used and the duration thereof? Are there lines that should never be crossed or is national security more important than any one human life? Do any of us even have the right to make that call? These are the types of thoughts that'll be running through your head by the time that this one is over and while it's rarely what you would call a pleasant experience, it's certainly a challenging film.

Unthinkable is a film that simply wouldn't work if the performances weren't one hundred percent convincing. Thankfully, Jordan is able to coax the best out of his talented cast, with Jackson going just far enough to really work in his part without ever going completely over the top as he is often times guilty of doing. He doesn't chew the scenery here, rather, he fits right in and winds up delivering one of his best turns in years. Moss is also excellent here, playing the most sympathetic character quite well but never letting us for a second think that Brody is nothing more than a bleeding heart. She's a smart character and one that's very well aware of what is at stake and Moss really brings that out in her performance. The star of the show, however, is Michael Sheen as Yusef. Here he delivers a completely believable and truly horrifying performance. His American born terrorist is a chilling and all too real character and he plays his role with an icy authenticity that you won't soon forget.

The film moves along at a good pace and is directed with enough style that it always looks good but never so good that it takes away from the central storyline or overshadows the excellent acting. The script is realistic, well written, and consistently tense and Unthinkable turns out to be an unexpectedly intelligent and often times quite riveting viewing experience, even if its grueling subject matter ensure that it's not something you're going to want to watch over and over again.

Video:

Unthinkable arrives on Blu-ray in a strong 1.85.1 anamorphic widescreen AVC encoded 1080p high definition transfer. This isn't the most colorful transfer out there but that doesn't stop the transfer from showing excellent detail throughout. Facial close ups, as usual, are the best example as you can see every pore on each performers face, but medium and long distance shots also look great, showing off the detail in the set design and locations used in the movie. Depth is impressive, contrast looks to be set right and black levels are strong throughout, never showing any problems with compression or macro blocking. Skin tones are lifelike and natural in appearance and print damage is never an issue even if a couple of scenes do show some natural grain. Eagle eyed viewers might spot some aliasing and some shimmering here and there, but that minor issue aside, Sony's transfer is good so long as you keep in mind that the source material isn't necessarily going to lend itself to an eye-popping high definition viewing experience.